Making Magic Zones in your Garden
March 1st…is that spring I smell in the air?? One of the reasons I’m such a huge proponent of gardening is the mental health benefits I’ve personally experienced. Getting outside, connecting with nature, observing the life cycle, working with my hands; all of these things have provided me with respite from daily overwhelm, especially since the pandemic hit last year. Today I want to tell you about the spots in my garden I call magic zones. I know, the word magic is a bit cheesy, but I can’t think of a more fitting word. These are places where I can pause, be present, recharge my battery, and practice gratitude for how much I love being outdoors in my garden.
Magic zones can be intentional, or you can discover them after they have been created. Here are five of the magic zones in my garden…
The Fairy Garden
The fairy garden was a happy accident. We chose a random corner to install a recycled metal arbour (thank you Facebook), and dig out a triangle of sod for our youngest to set up a fairy garden with Grandma, who is incredibly talented at anything crafty. It turns out this is the wettest corner in our yard, so moss and other fairy-like plants grow here happily. Our kiddo is approaching the teenage years, but setting up the fairy garden is still a spring tradition. Last year, the fairy garden got a massive development permit and will be expanding up the fence :-)
The Alpine Strawberry Plants
Along the pathway between our food forest and new annual beds are two Alpine Strawberry plants. We bought them not knowing much about them. These alpine strawberries remain white when ripe, and they are prolific producers. You know they are ripe when they pull off the stem easily. I swear they taste just like cotton candy. They start to deteriorate quickly once off the vine, so we feel extra special eating them - they wouldn’t fare well at a market or grocery store.
This is my husband’s favourite spot. He heads straight into the garden after work and digs through the bushes to find ripe berries, presenting them to anyone that’s around. His joy in the daily alpine strawberry harvest makes this one of my favourite spots.
The Nook
The nook was our big outdoor covid project. We had a patch of dead grass next to the house I had been pondering for a few years. My Mom sent me a photo of a bench built into a deck, and the nook design was created. Breaking down an old wood table we hadn’t used in years, my husband created a u-shaped deck area mostly protected from the wind (which is a huge issue here in Cochrane). It features benches with patterned blue cushions, big pots of flowers, a small propane fireplace, and an Adirondack chair. On the east edge, our herb spiral and trellis create some privacy, and to the south a there’s a sunflower bed. By August the nook is nicely surrounded by tall or vining plants. The nook was the perfect extra outdoor room for our family. We have morning coffee in the nook snuggled under blankets. On summer evenings we delight in the French concept of apero, laying out snacks, fresh garden finds, and crisp white wine. My youngest likes to sit outside under the cafe lights in the evening and read a book. We even turned it into a Christmas lounge this December. The nook gave us the rare opportunity to host guests this past summer, it was a comfy, covid safe location.
The Sunflower Fence
We back onto an alley, and in the summer, all of the fences that line the alley boast big, bushy mostly invasive plants. There is almost no soil along the alley (think 2”-4”), but the full sunshine and heat from the fence was obviously a good place for some plants to grow. So this year, my son dug up some of the sod reaching into the alley so we could plant some seeds. We planted 3 varieties and sunflowers, and due to 2020’s late frost date, we ended up with a delightful wall of sunflowers. This year we’ll dig up the rest of the sod, and I plan to plant a variety of persistent self-seeding flowers (foxglove, pansies, calendula, bachelors button, alyssum, coreopsis) as well as some cosmos and shorter sunflower varieties. I delight in the unexpected beauty created for our neighbours that walk in the alley.
Coming soon: The Hideaway
We’ve titled our 2021 project the Hideaway. The whole west fence of our yard is going to become a second food forest/forest garden. We’ll plant trees and shrubs to help break some of the relentless wind. This time around, we recognize the shady, somewhat damp corner is a location to create a magic zone. My husband has designed a little covered hut made for one that will sit behind a new feature tree. It will have a reclining bench with a pull-out shelf underneath to place a beverage and book. I suspect I’ll grow some type of vine up the side of the structure.
The hideaway will be the perfect place to sneak away to read or nap. Our forest garden design includes a winding pathway to the hut (planted with alpine strawberries on the border of course). I’ll plant creeping thyme and other soft ground covers underneath the hut to make it feel especially connected to the earth. Eventually, the hut will be partially hidden by trees and shrubs.
If you want to create magic zones in your own backyard, I am offering a 6-week class to help you do just that, and it starts next week! The course, Creating Your Secret Garden, is jam-packed with content - you’ll learn how to observe and map your space, the design process, how to plan and plant a kitchen garden, how to plant and plant a food forest, and how to maintain your yard. You can sign up for the class RIGHT HERE.